The achievement subject names the characteristic form of subjectivity under neoliberal capitalism. Unlike the disciplined worker produced through external coercion, achievement subjects voluntarily optimise themselves through continuous self-improvement.
Achievement subjects experience productivity as self-actualisation. They internalise capital accumulation imperatives as authentic desires. When they cannot meet impossible demands, they blame themselves rather than recognising structural contradictions. Depression and burnout mark this system’s breaking points.
Related: auto-exploitation, psychopolitics, Byung-Chul-Han